Well screen



- F. l. GETTY Feb. 16, 1932.

WELL SCREEN Filed July 24, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Feb. 16, 1932 UNITED FRED 1.. GETTY, -01 JENNINGS, LOUISIANA Application filed 24,

The invention relates to screens for use in wells and haslas an object theprovision of a screen which will not readily become clogged. p

It is a further object of the invent-iongto provide a screen in which the cutting by liquid-b'orne sand will be substantially uniform so that one part will not be cut out while other parts are still lit for use. V

It is a further object of the invention to provide a screen having a. maximum allowable space in the interior thereof consistent with the strength necessary to' withstand the pressures to 'be expected. V

Further objects of the invention will ap} pear from the following description when readin connection with the accompanyingdrawings showing illustrative embodiments of the invention and wherein Fig. 1 is an end View;

Fig. 2 is a detail side View;

Figs. 3 and 4 aredetail sections different forms of grooves; v

Fig. 5 is a detail transverse section on an enlarged scale; s I h Fig. 6 is a detail longitudinal section; and

Figs. 7 and 8 are a detail side elevation "and a vertical section respectively of a modified form of opening.

While it is the object of a well screen to exclude sand and gravel, yet it is well understood to be impossible to completely exclude sand from entering with the liquid without excluding the liquid also. In order to cause sand entering with the liquid to continue therewith and not be deposited in the passages in the screen, the screen according to the invention herein is made of such dimensions that the liquid will flow at a substantially uniform parts.

In accordance with the invention, a pipe 10 is wound with a wirell which isvirtually T-shaped in cross section, as indicated in Fig. 6, presenting the headlQ and the reduced base 13, the reduction in the size ofthebase as compared with the head providing'the passages v14 between'adjacent turns of the wire. h I

Thewire is wound spirally on the outer showing side "of the headof the previous turn as the v velocity through the screen in all canals 1929. serial- 1%. 380.710.

surface of the pipe as indicated in Fig. 2

[where av limited number of turnsonly are shown for purposes of illustration.

' To space the adjacentturnsof the head 12 apart whereby to provide-an opening'for Cf; l quidintov the passages 14, there are shown lugs l5 projecting one side of the head, which lugs areplaced' into contact with the plain wire is wound. h v

To pass liquid entering through thespaces I 16 andpassages 14 to the interior offthe pipe, there is shown a plurality of longitudinal I grooves 17 and perforations 18 "through the wall of the pipe opening into the grooves. The grooves 17 obviously tend to weaken the wallsof thepipe and to permit the use of a pipe of as thin wall as possible whereby to provide the maximum safe passage within the screen, the grooves are made relativelyv wide and shallow. For the purpose of maximum strength, in theory the bottoms of the grooves should be made "upon the are ofa circle concentric withthe'surfaces of the pipe, as indicated in Fig. 4, but this structure being more expensive to produce, it" is found that grooves with flat bottoms, as indicatedin Fig. 3, form a su'ificiently close approximation to the ideal. g 7 If thespeed of flow of liquid in any ortion of passages 14 or 17 is checked,the iquidborne sand willtend to be deposited atthis *point, and to avoidsuch action the cubical contents of passages 14 andof the grooves .17 receiving liquid from said passages are made substantially equal. The perforations 18 are made of amplesize that there may be no resistance to flow of liquid to the interior of the pipe out of grooves 17 i In order-toprovide 'suflic'ient flow space in the grooves 17 for thepurpose above described without unduly weakening the walls "of the. pipe, it is desirable to provide a relativelylarge number of such grooves and it is at present preferred to space these grooves at,

abet-124. degreesofthe' arc from center to center as illustrated in the drawings. A m'odi'fied formof opening is shown atl8 in F igsi7: and '8 which the walls of the Z; q

opening inwardly-to enable the-resist- 9 2 i; ii

ance to flow to be reduced as the liquid passes into the pipe.

Since the velocity of flow of the liquid is substantially uniform in all parts of the screen, it follows that the cutting of the ma terials of the screen by the sand carried along with the liquid will be substantially uniform throughout and therefore that partswill not be cut away whereoy to render the screen useless until the same is substantially completely worn out.

embodiment of the invention within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit thereof. 5

I claim: a i

1. A well screen comprising, in combination,a cylinder having longitudinal grooves.

in its outer surface and perforations through its Walls opening into said grooves, a covering ofwire applied circumferentiallyto said cyl ind-er, said wirehaving a reduced portion in contact with the cylinder. to provide passages communicating with said grooves and-nueans to space the adjacent outer portions of said wire apart to provide screen openings into said passages.

2. A well screen comprisingpin combination, a cylinder having grooves in its outer surface and perforations in its walls opening intosaidgro-oves, a covering of T-shaped elements carried by said outer surface'at an angle to said grooves with the reduced portion in contact, with said surface to provide passages communicating with said grooves, the heads of the Ts spaced apart to provide screen openings th.erebetween,rthe combined cubical capacity of the passagesjbeing sub stantially equal to that of the grooves to pro vide for flow of liquid to the interior of the cyiinderat a substantially uniform speed at all points.

3. A well screen comprising, in combina tion, a cylinder having grooves inits outer surface substantially parallel with its axis and perforations in its walls opening into said grooves, a substantially circumferential winding of T-shaped wire covering said cylinder with the reduced portion of the wire.

in contact with thesurface of the cylinder 7 to provide substantially circumferential passages crossing and communicating with said grooves and means for spacing the head in each turn of said winding from the heads of the adjacent turns to provide. screen openings into said passages, the combined cubical capacity of said passages being substantially equal to that of said grooves whereby to provide asubstantially uniform rate of flow of liquid through all parts of the screen. s

4:, A well screen comprising, in combination, arelatively thin walled cylinder having relatively shallow grooves in its surface substanti ally parallel with 1ts axis and openings through its into said groovesfthe openspirally upon said cylinder with the reduced base of the wire in contact with the surface of the cylinder to provide passages in communication with said grooves, the head of said wire bearing lugs to spacethe heads of successive turns from ad acent turns thereof to provide screen openings to said passages,

c 1 j'the' width of said grooves and passages being Minor changes may be made in the-physical such that the combined cubical capacity of tially equal whereby to provide a substantially uniform rate of fiow through all parts of the passages and grooves to prevent accumulation of sand caused by lesseningof speed of flow of sand bearing liquid in any part of said screen. T

., '5. A well screen comprising, in combina' tion, a cylinder having grooves cut in its outer surface, said grooves spaced apart a distance in excess of their width and perforations through its walls whose diameters exceed the width of the rooves andopening thereinto, a covering of wire applied substantially circumferentially to said cylinder, said wire having a reduced portion in contact with the cylinder to provide passages communicating with said grooves, and means to space the adjacent outer portions of the wire apart to provide screen openings into said passages. .6. A well screen comprising, in combination, a cylinder having longitudinal grooves in its outer surface and perforations through its walls'op-eninginto said grooves, a covering of wire applied circumferentially to said cylinder, said wire having a reduced portion in contact with the cylinder to provide passages communicating with said grooves and means to space the adjacent outer portions of points. V

FRED I. GETTY. 

